LA City Council Opposes State’s Redistricting Plan

The Los Angeles City Council voted 11-2 on a resolution against the state’s redistricting plan. 

While the resolution will have no impact on the legislation itself, it publicly states its opposition. 

Those that voted in favor stated that they would rather redistrict themself without the State of California getting involved.

What is the State’s Redistricting Plan?

A bill has been introduced in the California Senate that would create a separate commission to redistrict Los Angeles County before the April special election. 

In practicality, it would create an independent process to redistrict Los Angeles.  

The special election in April is to replace former City Council President Nury Martinez, who resigned after a leaked audio tape revealed her saying racist comments. 

Similarly, a bill was introduced in the Assembly that would require any jurisdiction with a population of over 300,000 to have an independent redistricting commission. 

The string of redistricting legislation that has been proposed is in response to gerrymandering, a process where officials create district boundaries to favor a party. 

History 

Some jurisdictions such as Long Beach, San Fransico, and Los Angeles County already have independent commissions set up for redistricting with likely more on the way. 

In 2019, a bill requiring such commissions passed the state legislator but was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. He reasoned that local municipalities were already allowed to create them and since counties would be reimbursed, it should go through the budget process. 

Although he did recognize the power it could have in preventing gerrymandering. 

For the latest news in Greater Los Angeles, keep up with BOMA on the Frontline.